Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education, and can often be found hosting gardening demonstrations on Saturdays and Sundays.

Hyacinthus orientalis

Next weekend, I will be teaching visitors to the Home Gardening Center how to properly site, plant and protect their bulbs from hungry critters. It is a demonstration that I enjoy giving every year. We examine a number of bulbs, learn all the basics and then find a few nice empty spots around the Garden to plant. It is one of the demonstrations where I like to get hands-on with visitors, encouraging them to jump in and help prepare a nice display for the spring.

Last week, I made the rounds with a few of the curators and gardeners asking them about their favorite bulbs and planting techniques. The first stop I made was to meet with Jody Payne, the curator of the Rock Garden. I asked her for some good recommendations for the homeowner.

Our discussion started with one of my favorite spring blooms for fragrance–hyacinths. Jody recommended the Festival Series as a good choice. Festival Series hyacinths have a more open form than your traditional hyacinth and they are not so prone to flop over once they are in full bloom. Each bulb produces several flower stalks providing a full display. The Festival Series comes in pink, white, and blue, with a delicious fragrance. They create a nice, naturalistic look in the garden.
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So much theater in the humble tulip. The daffodils may be fading for the season, but they’re not leaving any absence of spring color in their wake.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

We now continue our impromptu series on recently-flowering tulip cultivars styled after chatty tropical birds.

Tulipa ‘Silver Parrot’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

The tulips are out and about! And contrary to what Holland’s classic advertising suggests, not all bulbs sprout cup-like, candy-colored petals. In some cases they fall more in line with the imagery of Poe.

Don’t worry, Holland. We love you.

Tulipa ‘Black Parrot’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

“Tinka.” What a name for a cultivar. Look at this tulip and tell me–would it fall more in line with a Tinkerbell, or some intriguing Russian femme fatale?

Tulipa ‘Tinka’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen